Nigeria’s Queen of track, Tobi Amusan has gotten to a flying start to the season by clocking 7.77s to win the women’s 60m hurdles at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold which kicked off in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Saturday, January 27.
It’s the first outing for Amusan in the new year after winning the Diamond League trophy for an astonishing third consecutive time last year September to wrap up a year that has been somewhat torrid on the heels of her suspension due to doping test.
The 26-year-old however on Saturday set a new African record, thrashing Gloria Alozie’s record of 7.82s, which she set 25 years ago.
The 2022 world 100m hurdles champion was another athlete to achieve a personal best in Astana.
After leading the heats with a comfortable looking 7.91, she returned to win the final after a powerful second half of her race.
In the last race of the schedule, Amusan held off USA’s two-time world indoor 60m hurdles champion Nia Ali, who clocked 7.89, and Ireland’s Sarah Lavin, who set a second PB of the day – 7.91 – after her 7.93 in the heats
Last year, Amusan was left shattered in the build-up to the World Championships in Budapest after she was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit for whereabouts failures.
Although she was later cleared by a disciplinary tribunal on the eve of the meet’s kickoff, she would later uncharacteristically finished sixth in the 100m hurdle final in Budapest.
The feat on Saturday is expected to propel Amusan into more achievement as the Paris Olympics build up momentum gradually.